Source: Radio New Zealand
The Mohaka River in Hawke’s Bay. 123RF
- Volunteer fire-fighter Alex Scarrow died days before Christmas rafting the Mohaka River with friends
- A Coroner says it was misadventure and has put forward recommendations for a new safety code for recreational rafting
- They were told the rafting trip turned fatal because a knife wasn’t readily accessible
- Water Safety New Zealand says it will work to increase awareness of the proposed new code
The death of a man while rafting with his mates has spurred the Coroner to put forward a new safety code for people on the water.
Farm worker and volunteer fire-fighter Alex Scarrow was 31 when he and his friends set off for their rafting trip on the Mohaka River in Hawke’s Bay.
It was December 16 2023, and Scarrow’s partner described him as outgoing, a lover of the outdoors and someone who pushed limits while having fun.
He was no stranger to the Mohaka River and had rafted for about a decade, but this trip would be his last.
Coroner Ruth Thomas’ findings released on Monday said he and his friends all set off wearing life jackets.
They also had a box of Coruba rum and a box of Wooodstock bourbon, along with cheese and crackers.
“We were just enjoying the good weather and a day off work,” the findings show one friend as saying who also said they were not intoxicated.
Their mobile phones went into a dry bag, and a carabiner was used to secure a blue plastic barrel with a lid to the raft.
One of the friends put their knife belt and a personal locator beacon inside that barrel to keep them dry.
The Coroner said the friends described the first 90 minutes of their rafting trip as fun and that everyone was happy.
After stopping for a swim, Scarrow told the group they were nearing an area that can “get quite nasty”, the Te Hoe drop.
The group paused on a shingle bank to pump up the eight seater raft and went for another swim.
‘I just woke up on the side of a rock’
The findings said one of the friends said Alex Scarrow was sitting at the back of the raft.
“I just remember going down some small rapids, I was laughing at Alex for some reason, and then I just woke up on the side of a rock, past the raft.”
They said they never saw anything coming.
The Coroner said another friend said the group was t-boned by a large boulder.
“It happened so fast I don’t think anyone expected it to happen,” that friend said.
The findings detail how all four were thrown from the seats – two were swept downstream and managed to scramble out of the river.
The water was holding the raft against a large boulder, and the remaining friend could see Scarrow’s foot was trapped by a rope attached to the raft.
His head was just above the water, and the friend tried to find something to cut the rope with.
He tried one of the alcohol cans but that did not work.
“I didn’t have any knives on me as it was in the blue dry barrel with the locator beacon inside,” the findings show the friend as saying.
“The barrel was strapped to the boat, but the lid ripped open, and all the contents washed away.”
The friend tried getting a paddle to Scarrow but he could not grab hold.
The strong current meant they also could not use the paddle to keep Scarrow’s head above the water.
The friend lost his balance and fell from the raft into the water, by which stage Scarrow had sunk lower into the water and did not look like he was fighting any further.
The friend managed to tell the others that Scarrow was stuck – they ran back upstream but could not see a safe place to launch a rescue.
The knife, mobile phones and personal locator beacon were all washed away.
One of the friends walked away from the river to get help.
A Search and Rescue team flew to the scene at 1.40am and saw the raft wrapped against a large rock in the middle of the river.
It was too unsafe to access, and in the morning a helicopter dropped local rafting guides who worked with SAR to free Scarrow’s body.
One of the guides cut the bow rope wrapped around his foot and pulled him to shore.
A pathologist said Scarrow’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for driving, but added it was impossible to determine the degree of intoxication.
Expert says life could have been saved
A swiftwater rescue instructor who reviewed the evidence noted all four friends were drinking while rafting.
They noted the group all had lifejackets but that none was wearing a helmet.
There was also no other knife apart from the one that was in the blue barrel before its lid came off and its contents got washed away.
The expert said there was no evidence of a pre-launch safety briefing about capsizing, entrapment, hand signals or whistle signals.
Some of he group had rafting experience but none had swiftwater or river rescue certifications.
Scarrow was thrown in the water when the raft wrapped around the rock, and the rope tightened around his foot and stopped him getting out himself.
The expert’s opinion was the group did not show situational awareness of the prominent rock and had not formally scouted the rapid beforehand.
They also noted there was no evidence about how the bow rope had been stowed and said a well secured bowline would have significantly mitigated the risk of entrapment.
The lifejackets were a generic brand designed for marine use rather than for whitewater use, the expert said.
It meant that while the lifejackets could hold a river knife and sheath, it was “sub-optimal” because the sheath could snag on other objects.
“Had a dedicated river knife been carried on the PFD (personal floatation device) of at least one crew member it is more likely that the rope could have been cut early in the incident before the entanglement became unrecoverable,” the expert said.
“The entrapment was avoidable if the group had maintained situational awareness, and survivable in principle but became fatal due to the absence of an immediately accessible knife, and a lack of suitably trained and equipped peer rescuers.”
The Coroner said they were satisfied Scarrow could have survived if the group knew more about the hazard, had a discussion beforehand, and had a river knife on at least one of their lifejackets to cut the rope that had trapped him.
“When the lid came off this barrel they were left with no effective means to cut the rope entrapping their friend,” Coroner Ruth Thomas said.
“There is no requirement for a knife sheath and river knife to be attached to a recreational river rafter’s PFD. However, had any member of the group had a river knife attached to their PFD on that day, they would have been better equipped to try and cut the rope to free Mr Scarrow.”
Thomas said it would be a benefit to all recreational river users to be more aware of how carrying a river knife on a lifejacket could safe lives.
She also highlighted there should be at least one person unaffected by alcohol who was experienced and attuned to hazards in rivers.
“The group’s lack of situational awareness of the hazard, lack of access to a river knife, and their decision to drink alcohol while rafting are all factors that compounded and contributed to the fatal outcome,” the Coroner said.
While extending her sincere condolences, Thomas made a formal finding Scarrow drowned because of misadventure.
Code of conduct
Coroner Thomas said more safety information being publicly available could help prevent similar deaths.
There is information, but the benefits of a river knife attached to a lifejacket is not included in the list of safety equipment on the Department of Conservation website.
The expert swiftwater rescue instructor has drafted a Recreational Rafting Safety Code (see below).
The Coroner has recommended the Department of Conservation consider including a river knife on its recommended safety list.
They further recommended various groups review the proposed code and engage with each other on how to increase public awareness.
One those groups, Water Safety NZ, said it supported the code.
“The Coroner was quite clear that having access to a knife, and one of the experts, would definitely have helped instead of it being tucked away elsewhere and was lost when the accident happened,” chief executive Glen Scanlon told RNZ.
“Also having a plan for how to deal with these complicated sections in the Mohaka River, it appears there wasn’t one, although Alex himself did identify there was some rough water coming up,” he said.
Scanlon said the code that had been drafted was “a really god idea”.
“So it’s just a matter of hopefully us and some of the other organisations mentioned, the New Zealand Rivers Association, getting together and hopefully just starting it out and working a way out that we can effectively get those messages to people,” Scanlon said.
He said people needed to take such messages to heart and put them into practice.
Scanlon also expressed condolences to everyone who knew Scarrow.
The New Zealand Rivers Association responded to the Coroner that it supported the recommendation to review the draft Recreational Raft Safety Code.
The Department of Conservation responded that water safety management required coordinated actions with various parties and that it would engage with these.
Whitewater New Zealand and New Zealand Land Search and Rescue did not respond to the proposed recommendations, the Coroner said.
Recreational Rafting Safety Code
Two boats are always better than one
Always paddle with at least two boats so you have options to effect rescue and seek assistance.
Have the right skills
Make sure you have undertaken a river rescue course and can navigate the difficulty of river being paddled.
Know the skills, abilities and limitations of your group.
Have the right equipment
Ensure everyone has a PFD and helmet.
PFDs need a whistle and river knife to be complete.
Ensure you have means of emergency communication.
Every raft needs a wrap kit and rescue throw bag.
Alcohol and paddling do not mix
Be free of the effects of alcohol and drugs.
Even one drink can impair decision making in critical situations.
Have a plan and test it
Have a plan including what if things go wrong.
Each boat needs a skipper who is responsible.
Tell someone about your plan.
Have a safety briefing and practice emergency drills before you set out.
Check before you go
Check the weather forecast and river flow levels.
Make sure your raft and equipment is cleaned, dried and checked to prevent the spread of didymo and other biosecurity risks.
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